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Poker boot camps put two South Florida men in the chips
Published: 2005-04-28
 Poker boot camps put two South Florida men in the chips
By Nick C. Sortal
Staff Writer
Posted April 28 2005
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PHOTO
Knowing when to hold 'em
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(Sun-Sentinel/ Josh Ritchie)
Apr 28, 2005
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Steve Berman and Ron Rubens scribbled notes back and forth as the rest of their synagogue board continued its business.
Poker boot camp? Rubens wrote.
Berman's heart fluttered as he replied.
AN AMAZING IDEA!
Now, nine months and a thousand phone calls later, the Plantation men have quit their regular jobs, hooked up with the World Poker Tour and filled three 50-person poker instructional "boot camps," at $1,495 per player. The fourth boot camp, also sold out, is this weekend at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.
They fly to Las Vegas for research, dine with World Poker Tour sage Mike Sexton and, equally as important, pull in more than enough to pay their mortgages and feed their families.
Can you say American Dream?
World Poker Tour broadcasts on the Travel Channel set off poker's big bang in March 2003, and Rubens and Berman were among the viewers. The shows, taped at resorts and casinos around the world, benefited from a new lipstick-sized camera that revealed every player's hole cards. Earlier TV poker attempts were akin to watching bowling without seeing the pins.
The shows became the Travel Channel's signature program, as poker pros Sexton and Vincent Van Patten supplied breathless commentary and spread the Texas Hold 'em lexicon of flops, all-ins and short stacks.
Now on television at almost any hour, you'll likely see at least one poker tournament in progress, and as many as four, including on ESPN and regional sports networks. College students have adopted Texas Hold 'em as their game of choice. Casinos and racetracks keep adding poker rooms. And the number of World Series of Poker entrants has gone from 839 two years ago to 2,576 last year to an expected 5,000 or so this year.
Meanwhile, Rubens and Berman have gone from being fans outside the tournament ropes to being introduced to the crowd at World Poker Tour events.
"I'm working with people that part of me wants to get an autograph from," Rubens says.
The pair are small-time poker players, not experts. But they know where to find them: Clonie Gowen, who emerged as a top player on a "Ladies Night" telecast, is the lead instructor this weekend. Sexton is the instructor June 4-5 in New York City.
Learn by doing
The boot camp teaches how to analyze hands, calculate odds and decide on the right amount to bet, including the biggie: when to put all your chips on the table and go all-in.
Players also sit in poker labs, where they are given particular cards, chips and information about their opponents. Then they must make a decision -- fold or bet -- which instructors review and analyze.
"It's a very situational game, so it's difficult to learn just by watching a video or reading a book," Rubens says.
The clientele includes Internet poker players looking to move into the casino game, veteran players yearning to improve their skills and just regular poker lovers. This weekend, two popular South Florida athletes that Berman didn't want named also are among the 50 registered. Hint: the Marlins and Heat are in season and hockey players don't have $1,495 to blow.
Rubens and Berman book sites for the boot camp and market it. They also line up the instructors and oversee the details. They own the boot-camp business, River Gaming, LLC, but the WPT gets a cut for lending its (very) big name. They have needed no other advertising, Berman says.
"It's a natural extension of the relationship with our viewers," WPT founder Steve Lipscomb says. "It became evident to us they were seeking the next level of instruction."
Rubens, 38, ran an information technology training company in Sunrise for six years. Berman, 41, was vice president of a Boca Raton company that developed security devices for slots and table games.
"It's an obvious analogy, but if you're an entrepreneur you have to be a risk-taker, and if you're a poker player you have to be a risk-taker," Berman says.
Raking it in
The pair say Berman is the creative guy and Rubens is the grounded one. Berman set the vision in motion the next day after Rubens passed that momentous note. He called the WPT CEO and suggested the boot camp idea.
"I never would have made that phone call," Rubens says.
That was last August. By September, in the midst of four hurricanes, the pair worked out the deal. Two weeks later, they quit their day jobs.
"At first we thought this would be just a part-time deal, maybe with a stamp of approval from them," Berman says. "We kept thinking the other shoe was going to drop, but it never did."
They hung out with Sexton and other WPT sluggers, such as WPT telecast associate producer Alex "The Insider" Outhred, who has seen every hand played -- and folded -- on the shows.
"I'd probably have been more comfortable going up to Tom Cruise," Rubens says. He plays in local tournaments, but neither he nor Berman consider themselves an expert.
They expect all 12 of this year's boot camps to sell out.
"Things are good and they're on the verge of spectacular," Rubens says.
But they're not done yet. Berman says a secondary -- and larger -- boot camp product is in his head, to be launched in August. It involves more poker and Las Vegas. Tough life.
Nick C. Sortal can be reached at nsortal@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7906.
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TSN, Degree launch poker tournament
Published: 2005-04-28
 TSN, Degree launch poker tournament
TSN Release
4/28/2005
TORONTO - Do you have what it takes to compete against Canada's most cunning poker players?
TSN and Degree are searching for Canada's next undiscovered poker talent through The Degree Poker Championship, the first annual Canadian Texas Hold 'Em tournament. At stake, $100,000 - the country's richest poker purse, a paid seat at the 2005 World Series of Poker and a chance to win an additional $1 million.
The Degree Poker Championship begins in June with East and West regional competitions held at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C. Participants will compete for a limited number of seats in the tournament's televised playoff and championship rounds, held at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort later that month.
To register, go to www.degreepoker.com and fill out the entry-form. The regional events are free to enter and open to Canadians 21 years of age and older, excluding residents of Quebec.
TSN will televise the tournament in High Definition nationally, airing six one-hour prime time broadcasts beginning with a two hour special on September 15. Subsequent broadcasts will be September 16, September 23 and culminating with a two hour show on September 24, when a champion will be crowned.
The grand prize winner will receive $100,000 and automatic qualify for a seat at the 2005 World Series of Poker, which will be held at Harrah's Casino in Las Vegas in July. The winner will also compete for a chance to win up to $1 million in a dramatic final-hand Texas Hold 'Em showdown.
"The Degree Poker Championship is the ultimate event for Canadian poker players and offers a truly authentic experience for participants and viewers," said Adam Ashton, Vice-President of Marketing, TSN and TSN Events. "The competition gives players the rare opportunity to feel the pressure of competing in front of a national televised audience."
"Degree is extremely proud to partner with TSN to bring Canada its first national poker championship," said Stephen Kouri, Vice-President of Marketing, Unilever Canada. "Degree for Men helps men who are ready to take a calculated risk and maintain their confidence in those make or break moments."
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